Tiger Woods unable to compete at The Masters due to back surgery

I waited a few days to post this news, as the press release from TigerWoods.com came out on April 1, 2014. The headline reads “TIGER UNABLE TO PLAY IN THE MASTERS AFTER SUCCESSFUL MICRODISCECTOMY”.

Tiger Woods announced Tuesday that he has undergone a successful microdiscectomy for a pinched nerve that has been hurting him for several months.The surgery was performed Monday in Park City, Utah, by neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Rich.
The procedure was successful, but Woods will be unable to play in the Masters Tournament, instead requiring rest and rehabilitation for the next several weeks.“After attempting to get ready for the Masters, and failing to make the necessary progress, I decided, in consultation with my doctors, to have this procedure done,” Woods said.“I’d like to express my disappointment to the Augusta National membership, staff, volunteers and patrons that I will not be at the Masters,” Tiger added. “It’s a week that’s very special to me. It also looks like I’ll be forced to miss several upcoming tournaments to focus on my rehabilitation and getting healthy.…The goal is for Tiger to resume playing sometime this summer.

My first reaction, “Oh, that’s a good April Fools Joke.” I didn’t pay much attention to this because of it. Google and Gmail had their “Shelfie” joke, The Starters (NBA TV Show/Podcast) did their entire show backwards and Tiger Woods joking that he’s not playing in the Masters. Typical April 1st.

Well, it’s two days later and apparently THIS IS NOT A JOKE. I still can’t believe this news. I started watching golf in 1997 when Tiger Woods won The Masters. I was in Georgia and I am an African-American. This was heaven for me. I cannot imagine The Masters without Tiger Woods.

Does this change the fact that The Masters is one of my favourite sporting events of the year? No way. Adam Scott, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and others will keep me entertained.

We will all miss Tiger, though. He’s finished T-4 in 3 of the past 4 years and I know we all want to see him in the green jacket, soon.